Pressure
by Ben Kitsune
Summary: Really couldn't think of a better title for this, to be honest. A one-shot prequel fic to my upcoming epic, Super Mario Generations.


Hey there, everybody. 'Tis me again, with yet another installment of a story for your viewing enjoyment. To be quite honest, I wasn't exactly sure where to begin…to do something humorous or something significantly more serious since it's been a long while since I did any, outside of silly stuff.

I figured I'd go with something a bit more down-to-earth. Not that there isn't any humor in it, but…eh, whatever, right? ANYWAY, what I'm trying to say is, I kinda wanted to go in a bit of a different direction this time. Not anything like _Demonic Yoshi_, but a bit closer towards a more…eh, "traditional" Mario adventure.

This fic isn't it. This is really more of a standalone one-shot than anything else… rather, more so, one could say its sort of a lead-in towards it. A prequel of sorts, if you will. And, more than likely, will be retconned in future works, if not entirely discarded altogether. In any case, you're here to read the story, not listen to me ramble, right?

Enjoy, and please leave a review at the end. :D

--B. Kitsune

**Pressure**

The sun shone overhead, the rays piercing down upon the vast, colorful kingdom. Birds soared through the sky, singing melodies that were simple, yet eloquent. There was something rather sophisticated in its unpretentiousness, although the young man sitting within the window of one of the high towers in Mushroom Palace ascertained that he was more than likely just waxing poetry again.

He turned back to his work, tearing his attention away from the sounds of nature to feebly attempt to concentrate on it. He had been at it for hours, scribbling down paragraphs and jotting down notes within margins. He had been studying for so long; he was beginning to get rather cross-eyed. However, he knew he couldn't quit now, there was so much to do. Even that small brief respite he had allowed himself was something he admonished himself for. There was simply no time to fool around, not with everything that needed to be done.

He was so focused on the papers he was writing and engrossed in the open books surrounding him, he did not notice the elderly Toad that was hobbling up towards him, platter in hand, a cane crooked over one arm.

"Here now, dear boy!" The old Toad coughed in a somewhat wheezy, British accented voice. The young man at the desk jumped in surprise, causing the aged, mustachioed Toad to chortle.

"Apologies, young master Lucio, I came to check on your progress at the bequest of your mother. Come, take a break. You look like you're ready to collapse."

Crown Prince Lucio Mario sat back, taking a deep breath as he regained his composure. He chuckled lightly, shaking his head as he turned to him with a warm smile. "Thank you, Toadsworth, but that's not really necessary. I'm fine."

"Balderdash," Toadsworth said, placing the tray on the desk in an uncluttered corner while he pulled up a chair for himself. "You need to have a break every now and then. You'll work yourself to death! You've been at this all morning, you deserve one." He proceeded to pour them both a glass of hot tea, handing one over to him. The young prince smiled, leaning back a bit as he reached over to take it.

"Well, I suppose a few extra minutes of a breather won't hurt." He mumbled lightly, blowing on the hot liquid lightly in an effort to cool it.

"Of course not, dear boy. In fact, another reason I came to see you is that I wanted to remind you your presence was requested in the lobby later this afternoon, shortly after lunch. Your mother requested you and your father be there." Toadworth smiled, before turning his head and launching into a rather nasty sounding coughing fit. Lucio blinked a bit, placing the cup down.

"The lobby? OH! I completely forgot! We're supposed to be meeting delegates from the embassy down south today, weren't we? I don't even remember where exactly there were hailing from." He moved to try and shuffle through some papers with a somewhat panicked look on his face. Toadsworth reached up to place a hand on his arm with a weak smile.

"Now, now, m'boy, calm down. They won't be here for another three hours, plenty of time to prepare! I've already had the staff informed of their arrival, and everything's been taken care of. You just need worry yourself about making sure you're presentable. In fact, why don't you shower up now, and go get something to eat? Lunch is coming up soon, after all. Wouldn't want the kingdom's progeny to go malnourished, wouldn't we?"

Lucio chuckled a small bit, before taking a sip of his tea. "That sounds like a good idea, Toadsworth. I think I'll go do just that. But, still, I really should get my studying done—"

"Pishposh," snorted the grandfatherly Toad. "It will still be here when you come back. Go on."

"Very well. Thank you, Toadsworth." With that, the young man smiled as he got to his feet.

"Think nothing of it, m'boy."

Several things had changed in the past couple of decades. Princess Peach and the hero of land, Mario Mario, commonly known as Super Mario, had finally gotten married. Due to the current laws in place, once she was married, Princess Peach Toadstool was now crowned Queen Peach Mario of the kingdom. It was an old, ancient custom that monarchs, regardless of whoever was in the eldest position of power, were never recognized as either King or Queen unless they were married. Because of this, Peach had been recognized as Princess for well over 40 years.

It was an odd law, to be sure, but nobody had ever bothered to change it. Not that it really mattered when it came to his mother, until the coronation Peach was pretty much queen in everything but title anyhow. Still, the ceremony was grand and elaborate and the entire Kingdom was invited to partake in the celebrations. Luigi Mario, Mario's younger brother, had also been married to his own sweetheart, Princess Daisy Sarasa of Sarasaland, on the same day in a double wedding.

The only thing about the whole shebang that was, oddly enough, Bowser did not attack. Ever since his last major kidnapping scheme in his most recent bid to take over the Mushroom world, the Koopa King seemingly disappeared into thin air. There had been no word from him, no threats, no unusual activity…in fact, even Dark Land itself appeared to just disappear entirely. Shortly after the wedding, Mario and Luigi—quite rightly suspicious since Bowser _never_ passed up such a prime opportunity—went to investigate and had gone on a secret scouting mission to discover what he might have been planning.

To their surprise…there was absolutely nothing. The Dark Lands, while still as dangerous as ever with its lava pools, dark overcast sky, and lethal indigenous wildlife, held almost absolutely nothing else. All traces of what little civilization were missing in the cities that dotted the landscape. The tanks and boats—which once stormed impudently over the land, sat lifeless. The cities, void of life. The streets were completely silent. Even Bowser's Castle, which had been filled to the brim with guards, was eerily barren. There had been no trace left of where he, or for that matter, his _entire country _at that, had gone. The Marios were completely and utterly baffled.

And so, they returned home, and they waited. Suspicious and certain that Bowser was scheming something dastardly, they waited. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and still they waited. It was only after three long, uneasy years did King Mario, Queen Peach, and the Mushroom Kingdom at large began to relax. After all, perhaps, maybe the Koopa King finally learned his lesson and left them in peace.

When it was deemed safe to do so, investigative teams were deployed into the Dark Lands to figure out what could have possibly happened. After all, an entire kingdom, including its military and citizens couldn't have just _vanished_…could it? Unfortunately, despite several expeditions and studies, no result could be found. What made the information even more frighteningly bizarre is that there were no traces of him found when Mario had gone to inspect his other known hideouts. The keep on Vista Hill had been completely abandoned, and the Yoshies in Dinosaur Land reported that both Neon Castle and Bowser's old palace were both void of most troops save for a few grunt soldiers acting as sentries.

Mario, however, even to this day was still unsure, and had never let down his guard. Not even during the birth of his first—and currently, only—child. Lucio Mario, named partially in honor of uncle Luigi, was a small chubby young baby at birth, weighing approximately 9 pounds, 10 ounces. Like his parents, the baby had bright, sapphire blue eyes…and, as he grew older, grew to have quite a wavy yet unruly mop of a sandy, dirty-blond hair that was an equal mix of his mother's long golden sunny waves and his fathers short, dark earthly brown hair hidden underneath a cap that was as orange as the tangy citrus fruit itself. Much like his father and uncle, he had preferred more casual apparel and often wore a sleeveless shirt the same color as his cap with a pair of strong, denim jeans. As Lucio passed by a mirror in the hallway, he stopped momentarily to gaze upon his reflection. He was actually quite handsome, rather tall—about the same height as his mother, with nicely defined arms and legs. He had inherited his father's famous bulbous nose…but not his moustache, even though his 20th birthday was but a number of months away. Rubbing a finger lightly across his upper lip and feeling just the lightest touch of whiskers, he figured it wouldn't be too far off and he adjusted his bright orange shirt with matching cap and turned off to continue his walk down the hall.

Peach was exceptionally proud of her son, and loved him quite dearly, as did Mario himself. Being a prince, Lucio was no stranger to gifts and generally being spoiled, although Mario was especially keen on making sure that he wasn't _too_ spoiled. Regardless, though, being the son of the famous Super Mario and Queen Toadstool was not something Lucio particularly enjoyed. Being their _only_ child, let alone only son, also further compounded matters. As it was, being the Crown Prince, he was fully expected to follow all rules and guidelines of royal procedure, and was fully expected to conform to and adhere to them. Lucio hated the stuffy proceedings, and sometimes would often quite vocally make his distaste known and would even outright rebel if he felt it became too much for him. It was something that worried his parents…Peach in particular, despite the fact that she _did_ find it partially amusing because it reminded her much of her good friend, Princess Daisy. However, there were times that his antics quite frustrated the court nobles…especially whenever the crown prince was forced to attend court meetings as part of his upbringing and training.

Setting fire to the tapestry in one particular meeting with Grass Land officials, Lucio discovered, did not earn him any brownie points with anybody.

Eventually Lucio realized he would be expected to take the throne one day himself anyway…and he realized that he would need to be more responsible. Unfortunately, he also realized that there no second first impressions and with his tendency to sometimes be prone to outbursts of outrage knew that handling the task would be rather difficult. Further complicating matters was that Peach's record of almost near constant kidnappings alongside her dismal record of ruling the nation by delegating authority to the senate while she went out and Partied, played Golf, Tennis, and raced Karts (if she wasn't busy being kidnapped), her overall administrative ability according to foreign powers was quite dismally low despite her otherwise high popularity amongst local civilians. The only person that held any sort of positive foreign relation he was aware of was based on personal relations alone and that was with his own Aunt Daisy. Family, unfortunately, did not usually count when counting foreign powers. Even his actual materal grandfather, the former King Toadstool, was known more simply taking life one day at a time and acting upon personal matters for his own amusement and enjoyment rather than actually listening to the people and actually governing over the land.

On top of that, his status as Mario's son usually meant that he was a celebrity nearly everywhere he went based completely on principal alone. Never being one much for large crowds at all, Lucio had often tried to get away from being anywhere near large numbers of people whenever he could. Outside of his family (including his aunt, uncle, and cousin) and a few very select people, the prince was surprisingly reclusive and often spent his time either up in his room or studying in the libraries. This was something that also concerned his parents, and Toadsworth, effectively acting _as_ Lucio's grandfather (having been a father figure to Peach herself her whole life, that and King Toadstool having passed away long before Lucio was even born), also took to fretting over his young charge, often encouraging him that he needed to come out of his shell.

However, while they _were_ all concerned with his personal quirks, they were relieved that he was able to grow up in relative peace. After all, Bowser was gone. What more could they possibly want? What could have possibly gone wrong?

The answer to that came in one simple demonstration: whenever a void was left by an evil force, something usually far more powerful would swoop in to take its place. Mario and Luigi, the two protectors of the Mushroom World, always vigilantly guarding their homes and their families, kept a constant watch for any dark forces that would arise and would inevitably crush any that came up. And rise up, they would. It never failed…and Super Mario would never fail in his quests to defeat them, with Luigi usually holding down the fort on the home front and only accompany his brother whenever he had no other choice. This was also something that played on Lucio's conscience as he continued to be informed of the continual tasks and heroic deeds that his famous father accomplished...

Mario was so incredible, the people had gushed. He was a hero, in every sense of the term. Mario was so noble; he was the mark of a true king despite his earthly origins. Mario was so wonderful, Mario was so great, Mario this, Mario that, Mario, Mario, Mario! While Lucio was all well and proud for his old man, the prince could only take so much praise before he started wanting to beat the walls down in frustration.

What had _really_ torn Lucio up inside was that it wasn't _just_ the praise. It was the _looks_. Everybody who talked to him while speaking highly of Mario often gazed upon him with some sense of wonderment. A sense of…_expectation_. What if something happened to Mario? Who would take up his mantle? Surely, nobody would _ever_ be able to match Mario's legacy. He was a hero like no other. Lucio heard it quite often, and while nobody who ever spoke to him would even imply such a thing, the crown prince often got the impression that he was fully expected to become a great person himself. Somebody just as great as, if not greater than, his parents.

_Oh no, _they would say, _Oh no! You're your own person, Lucio! You're just imagining things. There's no pressure, no pressure at all.  
_How they lied; Lucio thought. How they completely, utterly, lied. It was obvious to anybody who spoke of the prince. Obvious in their tone, obvious in their eyes, they wanted him to _be_ somebody. They wanted him to _be_ the man his father was. They wanted him to _be_ the monarch, one day; that his mother and grandfather had not. As such, Lucio took making sure that he would meet his people's expectations. That was why he studied. That was why he trained in secret and worked out after hours burning the midnight oil in an attempt to get his body into shape.

Lucio was quite well aware that his future was murky, at best. Perhaps, he mused, that maybe he really _was_ just imagining things, that he was just worrying himself. Maybe it _was_ all just in his head. As he opened the door to enter the grand hall, he sighed. After all, he was only 19. He wouldn't be expected to take the throne right away.

No pressure, right?

He shook his head as he walked down the halls towards the dining room where his mother had expected him. Throwing open the doors, the lithe teenager was quite surprised by the sight before him. Sitting at the table was another young man, approximately his own age, although a little old by approximately a year or so. Dark brown hair underneath a cobalt blue hat that was being worn backwards, he was also in casual dress with a sapphire blue shirt and jeans. He too had a lithe, powerful, semi-muscular build, the light defining his darkened golden tan skin. He had seen quite some time in the sun. Sea green-blue eyes tore from the steaming mug than was in his hands, and over to Lucio, locking eyes with him. The young man in blue grinned, waving over at him.

"Good morning, cousin! Or rather, should that be good afternoon? Haven't really being keeping track of time." Marino Mario, Lucio's cousin, called out to him. Queen Peach turned over herself, smiling over at Lucio. The orange-clad blond grinned, heading over to take a seat between them.

"Afternoon, yourself! This is a pleasant surprise, I wasn't expecting to see you here, Rino! I thought Mom was in here waiting for me. Where's Uncle Luigi and Aunt Daisy?" Lucio grinned over at him.

Marino shook his head. "Dad's somewhere in town, and our moms are out in the courtyard somewhere."

"Really? Wow. What's the occasion? You guys here to drag us off to another Mario Party or something?" Lucio grinned in a half-joking manner. His counterpart in blue merely took a gulp of the tea that was in front of him. Marino smiled a bit, but he shook his head. His smile dropped lightly as he sighed.

"As much as I'd love to say that was the case, it isn't. Actually, we got an urgent message from the courts here. Apparently, there's some big news that our dads _really_ need to hear and our parents need to find out. Rather, it's more so Mom and Dad. I'm just here 'cuz I wanted to tag along."

Lucio arched an eyebrow. "Wow. Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"None whatsoever," Marino admitted. "Although, I want to say it has something to do with Bowser."

"Bowser? The Koopa King? The one missing for all these years."

"The one and the same. I was quite intrigued, but I was told this didn't concern me." Marino shrugged, tossing back another gulp and getting some tea down the front of his shirt. He drew back with a scowl, attempting to wipe it off with a napkin. "Aw, damn it."

The blond chuckled a bit. "Heh, don't let Toadsworth or our moms hear you say that." The brunet snorted a bit, waving his hand in a dismissive fashion. The boy in orange continued. "So, let me guess. We're barred from this meeting because our parents don't want us listening in, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Marino quipped. "Disregarding the fact we're learning to one day take the throne for ourselves, we're being left out of a crucially important meeting that may or may not determine that the one biggest threat to our national security may have returned, and what best to do to counter this." "That sounds more than a bit counterintuitive."

"My sentiments exactly." Leaning forward and partially to the side on the table, Marino propped his elbow up on the surface and crooked his leg over the other with a cockeyed grin. Lucio smirked with half closed eyes; he knew this type of expression.

"So. What's your plan for eavesdropping in on this?"

**Elsewhere…**

The scribbling on claws could be heard skrittering across the cobbled floor. The walls were dank and the path was dark, the only illumination coming from the interspersed torches hung alongside the walls every fifty paces or so. Blue robes fluttered with the wind being kicked up by the rushing figure, a clawed hand reached up to make sure his pointed blue cap was still resting upon his bald dome head. His sparking green eyes, hidden behind thick spectacles, were gleaming with excitement and pride as he moved to knock open a large wooden door that lead into his master's study.

"Master! Master Kamek!" He called out into the room, stepping inside.

Within the middle of the room, an ancient wizard donned in robes similar to his own, but with a white trim along the feet and sleeves, looked up harshly with a grizzled, wrinkled scowl. He withered, pale eyes, also hidden by black framed glasses, glared upon his disciple for interrupting his study. He spoke, but broke out in a major coughing storm which caused his frame to double over.

"Master!" The student exclaimed in alarm, rushing over to his teacher's side to support him.

"You'd better have a damn good reason for disrupting my concentration." The gnarled old sage wheezed.

"I wouldn't have come with news any less than groundbreaking, sir. We've done it."

Kamek glanced up, his eyes widening significantly. "The rift is open?"

"…Erhm, no, sir. We've managed to _get_ it open, but it was not for much more than a few seconds. We _did_ get a glimpse through. We were able to see into the Mushroom world! We can get back! We have not been able to _stabilize_ the opening just yet, but we're currently looking into ways to do so as we speak!" The young Magikoopa admitted, fear in his voice. He was so sure Kamek would be pleased with this information, however now he wasn't so sure. After a moment, however, the wizard's anxiety was abated as Kamek gave a weak grin with a wheezy cough.

"Excellent," Kamek breathed. "Excellent! I shall inform Lord Bowser immediately. Go now, and continue your efforts with the rift. You are dismissed, Kamar."

Kamar nodded, but did not make any movement just yet, making sure Kamek was on his feet and stable as the elder Magikoopa reached for a cane to support himself on, but was still wobbling quite nervously. "Sir, are you sure you should go in your condition? I'll be more than happy to carry on the news in your—"

Kamek silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Do not question your superiors, Kamar. Now, _go._"

Kamar stared at his teacher, but nodded once as he turned and exited from the room. Hands shaking, Kamek reached within his robes to pull out a vial from the folds. Popping the stopper off, he brought it up to his trembling lips and sipped down the sticky, warm red fluid within. Dropping it, and letting it fall to the ground with an audible _clink-clink_ and roll away, the sorcerer stood his ground and waited for the shaking in his body to stop and his raspy breaths to normalize. Once he did so, he moved to summon forth his broomstick to fly over towards his Kings last known location. Kamek knew it wouldn't be long now…each day the coughs got worse and worse and some days he was barely able to catch his breath. His vision was quite poor, even with his glasses, and was steadily deteriorating. He knew he did not have much time left, but he vowed that so long as there was life still within him, he would assist the Koopa Empire however he could.

They had been stuck in this dark realm for nearly two decades…and while their power and influence had grown exponentially, there had been no way of seemingly being able to return back to the Mushroom World. No way, except until now. King Bowser would be most pleased with this information, although he would _not_ be so pleased with the fact the portal would only be open for but a few seconds. Kamek could see it now: the mighty Koopa King, nearly 70, acting a fraction of his age at the thought of being able to get home. His wrath would, undoubtedly, _inspire_ the troops to focus and work harder and faster. The crusty Magikoopa couldn't help but laugh, nearly driving himself into another coughing fit. Yes, it would take some more time…but, at this point, Bowser's impatience notwithstanding, they all could wait some more. What was couple of additional months?

There was no pressure at all.


End file.
